You are here:

Wild 90

Name: Wild 90
Director: Norman Mailer
Released: 1968
Duration: 82 min

Representation Score

3.5/10

Limited

1968

Director

Norman Mailer

Runtime

82 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Wild 90 is a gritty character study focused on social transgression rather than demographic breadth. It prioritizes a non-conformist worldview that challenges traditional social orders and the sanctity of the stable citizen. However, the film lacks representation of multiple aspects of identity. It is heavily anchored in a hyper-masculine, male-dominated framework that offers little room for gender diversity or queer identities. While the film succeeds in its cultural critique of institutional norms, its narrow focus on a specific subculture limits its racial and gendered scope.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Wild 90 have LGBTQ+ representation?

Limited

The film centers on a hyper-masculine trio of gangsters. There is no explicit evidence of queer romantic arcs or non-traditional gender identities, though the characters exist as social outcasts.

How does Wild 90 portray gender?

Limited

The narrative is built entirely around a male-dominated triad. It reinforces traditional masculine archetypes through themes of violence and aggressive posturing, offering no evidence of women's ability to drive the story.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Wild 90?

Fair

The setting implies a diverse urban landscape, but the cast focuses on Mailer's specific collaborators. There is no explicit confirmation of a non-Anglo-Saxon majority.

How does Wild 90 represent religion and culture?

Good

The film engages deeply with themes that disrupt Western institutional values. By centering on criminals, it prioritizes moral relativism and critiques the concept of stable, productive citizenship.

Does Wild 90 include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no discernible evidence regarding the portrayal of physical or neurodivergent disabilities within the narrative.

Present on Screen

Strong engagement with themes that disrupt traditional Western institutional values.
Effective deconstruction of the 'stable citizen' through a lens of moral relativism.
Provides a raw, unfiltered look at social outcasts and anti-social behavior.

Limited or Absent

Significant lack of women's ability to drive the story or subversion of gender hierarchies.
Minimal representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-traditional romantic arcs.
Limited demographic breadth regarding racial and ethnic diversity.

Official Synopsis

Norman Mailer’s first feature filmmaking effort stars the director and his two longtime collaborators Buzz Farbar and Mickey Knox as a trio of gangsters holed up in a ramshackle New York apartment, drinking, braying, and fighting.

How are these scores produced? →